Spirited Away
by PavLuvsPercyJackson
Summary: The Gaang stop at a small Earth Kingdom town on their way to Ba Sing Se, and hear talk of the infamous Blue Spirit. Intrigued by the tales, Katara suggests that maybe the spirit can help them in their fight against the Fire Lord. Little do they know, the man behind the mask is the one and only Prince Zuko, banished from his home. ZUTARA! Slightly AU
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys**

**So, this is my first Avatar fic, and its Zutara, obviously ;P**

**In this story, Zuko was never tasked with capturing the Avatar, though he was still banished and stuff of course, and Uncle Iroh wasn't allowed to go with him, sadly :(**

**I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

"Oh, thank La!" Sokka exclaimed in happiness at the sight of the town in the distance.

They'd been travelling for days, on their way to the city of Ba Sing Se. Their food sources were diminished, and even Toph was sick of the endless sand.

Katara sighed in relief, desperate to feel cool water around her hands. She and Aang had managed to draw small amounts of water from the earth and the air, but it only ever enough for them to drink.

Aang looked just about ready to pour on the speed and run to the hulk of buildings, but they didn't know if this village was occupied by the fire nation or not.

"I can't feel any of them from here," Toph said, trying to reassure them.

Willing to try their luck, they headed towards the town with new strength, the taste of food already on their tongues.

The town was a cluster of stone buildings, obviously risen with earthbending. There were shop fronts along the main streets, and people walked through the narrow alleyways to gather food and other supplies at the market. A large well stood in the centre of the town square, and a man was pulling a crank to raise a bucket full of water to the top for a boy who looked to be only a little bit younger than Aang and Toph.

Just as Toph had said, Katara couldn't see a single Fire Nation soldier. At the entrance to the main street, there was a billboard, covered in wanted posters and other notices from the Earth Kingdom.

None of the posters had Aang's face on them, thankfully.

"Who's that?" Katara inquired, staring at the picture of a person in a blue mask. The mask was terrifying, depicting a blue man with a wicked, fanged smile.

"They call him the Blue Spirit," A new voice replied, and Katara and her friends whirled to face a rugged looking man. His hair was a shock of brown on top of his head, hanging above grass-green eyes. "Some people think he's just a myth, no one hardly ever see him. People can't agree on whether he's a hero or a menace, so there he is." He gestured at the wanted poster.

"Why do people think he's a menace?" Aang said.

The man shrugged. "Well, he fought off the fire nation, but some shops have complained that someone'd come along and nicked their vegetable or cuts of meat and then blamed it on the Blue Spirit. And thugs are found almost every week, tied up or knocked unconscious. All of them said a man in a blue mask had attacked them."

Katara frowned, glancing at her brother. This guy fought against the Fire Nation, maybe he could help them.

Aang asked the man if there was a hotel they could stay at, and he pointed to a big building a few doors down on the main street.

"That Blue Spirit guy sounds interesting," Toph said, following them into the hotel.

Sokka asked the woman at the front desk for a room, receiving a card in exchange for five coins.

"Aang," Katara walked in step next to the Avatar. "Sokka and I were thinking that maybe that guy could help us."

Aang frowned. "Katara, they're even sure if he exists or not."

"He exists," Katara insisted. "They have his picture, and he fought off the Fire Nation.

"Well, if you guys can find him, be sure to ask him for me." Aang said tiredly, opening the door to their room.

* * *

They'd spent almost all day laying on the beds, cherishing the feel of the soft mattresses beneath them.

Katara longed to go waterbend at the well, but knew that to do so would draw unwanted attention. She'd planned to go out at night, when the village was asleep.

Waiting till she certain her friends were asleep, she slipped through the window and into the night.

The square was eerie and cold without the bustle of the townspeople, but Katara was free to do what she wanted. She quickly dashed to the well, drawing water from its depths.

Twirling the water through the air, Katara was about to freeze it midair when a movement caught her eye.

Reacting fast, she froze the water into daggers and flung them at the corner of one of the alleys.

_Calm down Katara, there's nothing there, _she told herself. _You're just paranoid. _

She saw something on the roof behind her, but by the time she'd turned around it was gone.

"Hello?" Katara said to the darkness.

She thought it was probably just a bird or something; no human could be that fast and totally silent, except maybe Aang.

"Is someone there?"

_Maybe it's the Blue Spirit, _she wondered, but then dismissed the idea. No one had seen the spirit in ages, according to the villager, there was absolutely no chance she'd see him the first night of her stay.

She pulled more water from the well, ready to attack.

A black-clad figure stealthily ran along the roof in front of her, and Katara hurled the water at it. When the wave receded, the figure had disappeared without a trace. No thud of their landing on the other side of the building, no saturated footprints as they retreated.

As if a spirit had vanished into thin air.

* * *

The Blue Spirit had heard the Water Tribe girl talking about him earlier that day, and had decided to pay her a visit when he saw her in the town square while he was on his nightly patrol.

What she was doing out at night in a town like this, he wasn't sure, but when he saw her bend the town's water supply, he was sure she could defend herself.

He heard her talking to the young boy with the arrow tattoos.

The Avatar that the Fire Lord had sent him to capture all those years ago.

And he had refused, resulting in his banishment.

But now the Blue Spirit wanted to do everything in his power to defeat his so-called father. If the Avatar asked him to help, he would.

He watched the waterbender practice her bending, before deciding to show himself.

The Blue Spirit ran along the roof, giving her just enough information to believe that he existed; if she did, she would come back. When she threw her water at him, he quickly slid off the roof and out of sight, starting to run back to his 'home'.

He lived in a cave on a cliff face that led into a deep and sparsely vegetated ravine. Though the valley wasn't farther than a few kilometers from the town, no one came down here. There was nothing for them.

The only signs of his inhabitance of the ravine was the occasional scorch mark on the rocks. Though he didn't use his bending in combat-it would give him away to his father- he still trained in secret, learning techniques from other benders.

The Water Tribe girl ad given him some good ideas, but he'd have to try them out later.

He went to town every night, but with the girl there he hadn't been able to refill his water-skins. With a sigh, the Blue Spirit sat down heavily on his bedroll. He took off the mask and ran a hand through his thick black hair.

He would need more food soon as well, and as horrible as stealing made him feel, he didn't have any other choice. His father had at least let him have the basic necessities when he was banished, but he'd ripped most of his clothes and had no way of fixing them.

Having one small mouthful of the little water he had left, using the rest to wash his face. If there was one advantage to living near the town, it was the easily accessible food and water, but now he would have to travel to the small creek that run deep down in the ravine.

It had to be only a few hours till dawn, so Zuko decided to get in a few hours of sleep before he set off to get more water.

Slipping under his blanket, willing his inner fire to keep him warm in the cool night air, he drifted off to sleep, hoping that for once the horrible dreams would leave him alone.

* * *

Katara sprinted back to the hotel, climbing in the window.

Ready to crawl into the bed and act like nothing had happened, she heard a small cough, turning to find Toph staring at her expectantly.

She cursed herself, Toph would've felt her vibrations as she ran.

"Where have you been?"

Katara sighed, knowing that it was useless lying to Toph. "I wanted to practice my bending."

The blind earthbender didn't ask why, but instead raised an eyebrow. "Who was the other person with you?"

"Other person?" All Katara could think of was the figure on the roof. How long had Toph been waiting for her to come back.

"Yeah," Toph said. "Felt him running off that way," She indicated to the east. "Guy's footsteps were almost as light as Twinkletoes'."

Katara sat down on the bed. "I don't know who it was."

Though she still couldn't shake the suspicion.

When she and Toph went back to sleep, Katara almost expected to the gleaming smile of the Blue Spirit looking in from the window.

* * *

**I promise chapters will usually be longer than this :D  
**

**Hope you guys liked it! Please R&amp;R **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! **

**So this is a really quick update, thanks for your reviews!**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Zuko rose with the sun the next day, after having an uninterrupted sleep.

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stretched, the early morning light shining into the mouth of his hidden cave. Already fully clothed, Zuko grabbed the water-skins he needed to refill and entered the ravine.

The prickly scrubs bothered him little as he began his trek, following the valleys path to the south.

It took a few hours to reach the creek, and by the time he got there, Zuko was sweaty from the growing heat, his already frayed clothes were torn by the dry thorns and he desperately needed a drink.

Kneeling down on the bank of the creek, he uncorked his bottles and filled them with water. After taking a drink from his cupped hands, Zuko decided he may as well practice. He wanted to try that technique he'd seen the waterbender use anyway.

Standing up, Zuko took a deep breath and held the fire in his hands. Rather than using punches and kicks, Zuko copied the waterbender's fluid movements, the fire lengthening in his hands till he held two long whips of flame.

He weaved the whips through the air, careful not to set anything on fire.

Zuko practiced for another hour, then headed back to his cave after washing himself in the stream.

During his walk, he wondered about the Avatar and his friends. If he joined their group, would they even want him around if they knew who he was? Would the sight of his scar disgust them like it did him.

He just wanted that stupid scar to disappear. All it did was remind him of his failure, of his banishment. The only good that scar had ever done for him was reveal the terrible truth about his father.

_And now, I have to make sure he can't hurt anyone ever again. _He pledged. _If I have to, I'll fight him myself, and he'll regret everything he's ever done to me and the world. _

* * *

Katara was beyond thankful that Toph didn't tell Aang and Sokka about last night.

The four of them had gone to the market that morning, hoping to buy some food and spare clothes.

Katara was looking through a rack of skirts when she heard a group of young boys chatting excitedly.

"The Blue Spirit was back last night!" One cried. "I heard him running on the roof!"

Another scoffed. "Don't be stupid, Lee, you can't _hear _the Blue Spirit."

_So it _was _him, _she thought. But why had he come out if he knew she was there. He clearly didn't like to be seen.

Katara looked around to see where her friends were, and finding that they were out of hearing range if she whispered, she turned to the kids.

"Hey, what can you tell me about the Blue Spirit? Is there any way we could meet him?"

The boys laughed. "He ain't gonna show himself 'less he wants to. Only people who see him are the ones he puts in prison!"

"Yeah!" The others chorused in agreement.

Katara scowled. She walked away, hurrying to catch up with her friends. Aang and Sokka were staring at the wide range of food, their mouths watering, while Toph just stood there, looking very unimpressed.

"Are you two gonna buy something or what?" The woman behind the stall asked, growing irritated.

Sokka licked his lips. "I can't decide!"

Katara rolled her eyes, grabbing the food they needed and giving the woman some coins.

She gave a mango to each of the boys, offering one to Toph, but she declined.

They walked around the town, keeping in the shade of the buildings to avoid the acute summer heat.

She looked around for anyone who looked suspicious. Surely, the Blue Spirit was a resident of the town, why else would he be protecting it from the Fire Nation? She searched for anyone with the same figure as the masked man she'd seen the night before.

Katara was disappointed that she couldn't see anyone who matched the Blue Spirit's figure.

Letting out a sigh of defeat, she decided to tell the rest of her friends what had happened.

"Hey guys, I need to tell you something."

Aang and Sokka turned around, confusion on their faces, while Toph looked at her knowingly.

"Well, last night, I went out to waterbend," She said as quietly as she could. "And I think... I think I might've seen the Blue Spirit."

Sokka rolled his eyes. "Don't be stupid Katara-"

"No," Toph interrupted. "I felt him, he was there."

Aang pursed his lips. "You didn't talk to him did you?"

"Of course not," Katara shook her head. "He was gone too fast."

"Could we find him?" Sokka questioned.

"I don't think so," Toph replied. "I felt him go off east, but he doesn't stay in town."

Sokka pulled them off to a more private location. "Ok then, what if he comes back tonight?"

"I try to talk to him."

"And if he doesn't want to talk?"

Katara frowned. "Then we try again."

Sokka's expression matched his sister's. "Why are you so determined to find this guy."

"He can help us, he hates the Fire Nation, who knows what he can tell us about them. He might even be a bender!"

"Or he's just some vigilante trying to make out like he's a hero."

"Guys enough!" Aang said. "Sokka, I understand your concern but Katara's right. The Blue Spirit might be able to help."

Sokka huffed. "Whatever, but I'm not talking to him. You three can take care of that."

* * *

That night, Katara, Aang and Toph waited by the well.

It had been about ten minutes since they got there, and Katara could feel the power of the full moon flowing through her veins. Aang was tense, listening for the Blue Spirit and Toph was aware of anyone in their vicinity.

"You guys better be ready," Toph whispered. "I can't see on the roofs as well."

Aang nodded and leaped on top of the nearest building, giving himself a boost with a blast of air.

Katara wondered down the main street. "Hello? Blue Spirit?"

She prayed she wouldn't sound stupid, calling to empty air. "Are you there?"

She turned a corner, out of Aang's line of sight. She searched the dark for the blue mask, looking anywhere Toph wouldn't be able to see. Then she realized that there was no point in the Blue Spirit doing so; no way could he know about the earthbender's special talent.

Suddenly, the air around her seemed warmer. A large, gloved hand covered her mouth from behind, muffling her shout of alarm, and strong arms pulled her backwards into the person.

She heard Toph yell to Aang, having sensed the stranger sneak up on Katara.

In seconds, her friends were there, Aang with his staff poised to attack and Toph with her fists clenched.

"What do you want?" The stranger demanded, a male voice ringing out into the silent night, still holding Katara.

Her heart pounded. His breath was hot on her neck.

"Let her go," Aang spoke evenly, and the stranger complied, removing his hand and pushing her back to her friends.

Katara whirled around to look at her assailant, and gasped in shock.

"It's you!"

She was sure the Blue Spirit would've raised his eyebrows if they could see them.

"I'll ask again," he said. "What do you want?"

Aang stepped forward, standing protectively in front of Toph and Katara. "I'm the Avatar, and we need your help."

* * *

Zuko stared at the three young benders in front of him.

He'd known this was coming, and yet now he had no idea what to say.

"With what?"

The Avatar regarded Zuko carefully, his stiffness an indication that he was still ready to fight. "We heard that you've fought the Fire Nation?"

Zuko nodded an affirmative. And he'd kicked their butt. He knew almost everything about their military, their strategies, weaknesses and invasion plans.

Destroying their siege weapons with his bending had been easy, and not one of the soldiers had seen him.

Most people would've wondered why Zuko had chosen to protect _this _town in particular, but he knew that the Fire Nation had planned to take this town and build factories here to manufacture war-machines. This town was the closest to Ba Sing Se, and it was important to the Fire Lord's plans.

"Right, well, we were wondering if you could help us fight the Fire Lord. Any information you can give us could help the war effort, and we could use someone with your skills in the fight."

Zuko considered the three kids in front of him. The four of them were too young to be going through this. He didn't want to encourage a twelve year old boy to fight in a war, but he _did _want to fight to save the world from his father.

"What exactly would I have to do?" He questioned.

The earthbender girl stepped forward. "Do you happen to know any firebenders who could teach Aang?"

Zuko's eyes widened. "You haven't mastered all the elements yet?!"

"No," Aang blushed. "I was kinda frozen in ice for a hundred years."

"Whatever," The girl waved a hand dismissively. "Do you know any firebenders or not?"

Zuko considered showing them that he was a firebender. The Avatar would need his help to master the element, but he didn't trust the kids that much.

"Yes, I do." He finally said.

Katara looked at him hopefully. "Would they help?"

"Maybe," Zuko replied.

The Avatar and his waterbender friend shared a look. Zuko noticed the earthbender seemed to just gaze at a spot, not really focusing on anything.

"Alright Avatar, I'll help you, but don't expect me to the take off the mask too soon."

The three benders beamed, and before they could move, Zuko swung himself up onto the roof and disappeared.

* * *

"Woah," Aang whistled appreciatively. "That guy's good."

There was no sign of the Blue Spirit.

"I can't believe he _actually _agreed to help us." Toph muttered.

Neither could Katara. She had expected him to be a lot more reluctant. "What do we do now?"

"We tell Sokka what happened." Toph replied.

Aang scratched his chin. "Ok, but how will we contact the Blue Spirit?"

"I didn't think of that." Katara bit her lip.

Toph rolled her pale eyes. "That's just great!"

They went back to their hotel room, where Sokka was waiting expectantly.

"Well?"

Aang sat down on his bed. "He was there, he agreed to help us."

"Just like that?" Sokka raised an eyebrow.

Katara shrugged. "He said he'd help, but that he's not taking off the mask just yet, and then he disappeared."

"I don't know Aang," Sokka said nervously. "The guy seems kinda sketchy to me."

Toph scoffed. "You didn't even meet him. And as far as I can tell, he was telling the truth about wanting to help."

"Ok, fine," Sokka relented. "I'll give this Blue Spirit person a chance."

Katara was overwhelmed with an unexpected relief. Sure, she'd hoped Sokka would agree to let the stranger tag along, but she was so happy he'd said yes that she couldn't thrown her arms around her brother and kissed him!

She was intrigued by the man behind the mask. She wanted to know who he was, what he name is, where he came from. Was he a bender, like them? Was he even that much older than them? He was tall and muscular, but he didn't seem like an adult.

Thinking of the Blue Spirit, Katara crawled into bed. Suddenly, all the tiredness she'd been holding back caught up to her, and as soon as her head touched the pillow, her eyes closed and she fell asleep.

* * *

**Hey, hope you enjoyed the chapter, though I'm not too sure about the ending?**

**Please review! :P**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! **

**Hope you enjoy this chapter :D**

* * *

Zuko stepped out of his cave, slipping his mask over his face to hide his identity.

He followed the rock ledges out of the ravine, starting to run towards the town. The sun was starting to set, and it would be dark by the time he got there.

The run was less tiring than it used to be, years ago when he'd first found the cave and had started acting as the Blue Spirit.

When he arrived at the town, the moon had risen to conceal him. Zuko leaped onto the closest roof and sprinted silently along the top of building, jumping stealthily over the gaps between the houses.

He headed to the inn, where he knew the Avatar and his friends were staying. He slipped on the window sills, looking through the windows to check which one was their room.

Zuko peeked in-between the closed shutters and found the small group, then he pulled out one of the broadswords on his back and slid it through the gap, lifting up the bolts and opening the window.

Pushing the shutters open, he set himself down on the window sill, knowing that surely one of them would notice him.

As soon as his feet brushed the stone floor, the earthbender girl bolted away, sitting up ramrod straight. She seemed about ready to encase him to rock, but then she must've realized it was him.

The girl told her friends to wake up, and Zuko waited patiently, one of his arms resting on his leg. His posture was relaxed, but he still held the sword at the ready.

"What are you doing here?" The earthbender asked, and Zuko shrugged.

"We're a team now, aren't we?" He said as the rest of the group woke up. "We need to discuss a game plan."

"In the middle of the night?" The water tribe boy complained.

Zuko rolled his eyes. "It's not the middle of the night. To be honest, I'm surprised you were already asleep."

The other boy suddenly seemed to notice who he was talking to, and he gaped, staring warily at the sword held nonchalantly in the vigilante's hand.

"What do you suggest?" Avatar Aang asked, ignoring Sokka's complaints.

The firebender directed his attention back to the younger boy. "Firstly, I need to know what you're doing next."

"We're headed to Ba Sing Se to speak with the Earth King."

Zuko frowned, concerned that they didn't even think before telling him. Surely they didn't already trust him enough to tell them their entire plan.

"All Aang needs to learn now is firebending, and we hoping to ask some refugees before heading into the Fire Nation." The waterbender added.

"Good idea," Zuko nodded in approval. Most firebenders had been forced into the army, but any who weren't were either refugees or teachers.

"Aang's already learnt a little bit from Master Jeong Jeong, but we didn't stay long." The waterbender's brother said.

"Jeong Jeong?" Zuko raised his eyebrow in surprise. Master Jeong Jeong had fled the war years ago, and the last pupil he'd taught had been one of Zuko worst enemies back at home. The old master had refused to teach anyone after Zhao.

The Avatar nodded. "Yeah, but that was way before I mastered waterbending."

"Ok, how much longer do you think you'll stay here?"

"Not much longer," The waterbender said. "We just came here to stock up on supplies."

Zuko really needed to learn their names. He was already sick of calling them 'Avatar' and 'earthbender', but he didn't want to ask because then they'd ask what _his _name was.

"So..." The Water Tribe boy began hesitantly. "...Blue Spirit...what's the mask for?"

Zuko's hand tightened around the hilt of his sword and his muscles tensed. "To hide my identity from the Fire Lord, obviously."

The other boy looked slightly confused. "But, we're not Fire Nation..."

"Well if I wanted you to know who I was, I wouldn't wear the mask, would I?" He heard his voice sharpen.

Water Tribe narrowed his eyes in return. "And why wouldn't you want us to know?"

"I don't trust you."

"And why not?"

Zuko gritted his teeth. He didn't know who these kids really were. "How do I know you're not gonna rat me out, huh?"

"Why would we do that?" The earthbender interrupted. "Aang's the Avatar, he'd never go anywhere near the Fire Lord."

"And besides," Water Tribe added. "How do _we _know you're aren't going to turn us over? How do we know you're not secretly working for Ozai?"

The temperature in the room climbed uncomfortably high, even for him. "Don't you _dare! _I hate Ozai more than you could ever imagine."

The waterbender and the Avatar intervened before Zuko could deck the insolent water tribe peasant. "Then neither of us have a justifiable reason for distrust."

Zuko glared under his mask, and the water tribe boy met his gaze.

"Anyway, since we're a team, we just know each other's names right. I'm Aang, this is Katara, Toph and Sokka."

They waited a moment for Zuko to reply. "What's your name?" The Avatar prompted.

"Call me Lee." He said eventually, adopting the name he'd used when he stayed in Ba Sing Se, before he was the Blue Spirit.

He slowly put his sword back in the sheath next to its twin, staying seated on the window sill so he could make an easy escape. "When were you planning on leaving?"

"Maybe the day after tomorrow." Katara replied, looking to her friends for confirmation.

Zuko stood on the window, ready to make his exit. "Meet me a few hundred meters from town at dawn on that day. Then we'll head for Ba Sing Se."

He turned and jumped, landing quietly despite the two story drop. He melted into the shadows, sneaking through the deserted streets and back to his cave.

* * *

"I don't like him," Sokka stated as soon as 'Lee' was gone.

Katara rolled her eyes. "You don't like anyone."

That wasn't true, her brother just disliked mysterious bad boys, like Jet.

"His name isn't really Lee," Toph spoke up from her mattress on the floor.

Well, of course it wasn't. There was no way he was going to tell them his real name after going on about how he didn't trust them.

"Probably coulda guessed that, Toph," Sokka grumbled.

What was his real name then?

"Are you guys positively sure you want him to come with us?"

Aang nodded. "Yes, if he knows where I can find a teacher, then he should come. And he has skills that I've never seen before, he'll be handy if we come across Princess Azula and her friends again."

Katara winced at the memory of that acrobat girl jabbing her and blocking her chi. She hadn't been able to bend for hours.

"He wants to help, Sokka, he wasn't lying about that." Toph assured the warrior.

Katara nodded. "And you agreed that he could help when we got here."

Sokka sighed and lay back down on his bed. "Whatever, I'm going back to bed."

At the mention of 'bed', Aang stretched and yawned, following Sokka's example.

Katara stared out the window at the moon. Lee had left the window open when he left, and she wondered how he opened it in the first place, she was sure they'd shut it.

Standing, she walked to the open space in the wall. How had Lee gotten in? There was a ledge between the first and second stories, but it wasn't even wide enough for Katara to balance on.

She pursed her lips, closing the shutters. She sat down on her mattress and lay down under her blanket. The room had grown uncomfortably hot since Lee had gotten there, and Katara regretted shutting the window, but now that she was comfortable she didn't want to get back up.

Deciding to just ditch the blanket, she closed her eyes.

* * *

The next day, Katara and Sokka spent most of the day stocking up on food, while Aang and Toph headed into the deserted outskirts of town to practice their earthbending.

Katara was struggling back to the inn with heavy bags when a child ran past screaming.

"The Fire Nation!"

Sokka almost dropped one of his bags as Katara whipped her head around, looking down the main street to see about ten komodo-rhinos, accompanied by a squad of foot soldiers.

Katara put the bags down and uncorked her waterskin. Sokka pulled out his sword. They both knew that they couldn't hold off the soldiers on their own.

"Hand over the Avatar, and we won't burn your filthy village to a crisp." One of the soldiers demanded, lighting his hands with fire in a threatening manner.

"The Avatar isn't here."

The Blue Spirit stood on one of the rooftops, his dual swords drawn. He jumped down to stand next to the two Water Tribe citizens, and Katara took the cue to make a water-whip.

The soldier laughed, and the squadron advanced, shooting fire out of their palms and setting houses alight. Some of the earthbenders stayed to protect their town, but everyone else fled in the opposite direction.

Katara lashed out at a firebender, knocking his helmet off with her water-whip. She draw water out of the well to put out some of the fires consuming the thatched roofs.

She saw Sokka attacking the soldiers on the rhinos, kicking one of them off her mount and stealing the beast. He charged through the squad, swinging his sword at any firebenders that got too close.

The Blue Spirit's swords were a silver blur as he made his way through the enemy, ducking under blasts of fire. He was as graceful as ever in battle.

Pulling more water out of her skin, she bent the water to shards of ice, throwing them and aiming to knock the Fire Nation soldiers unconscious.

Rocks flew everywhere, earth shifted under their feet, and soon there was nothing left of the battalion but Sokka's komodo-rhino and a few helmets.

Katara yelped as the Blue Spirit suddenly grabbed her hand and started running towards the edge of town, Sokka in hot-pursuit.

"Where are you going?" Her brother yelled.

Lee didn't turn back. "They came after you, we have to go now."

Katara stumbled after him, trying to keep up with his much longer strides. "How did you they were there?"

"I'll tell you later, we don't have time."

They quickly found Aang and Toph.

"Come on, lets go." Lee said impatiently.

Sokka reined in his mount. "What's the deal, they left."

"They retreated to regroup. Next time they might come back with a bigger force, we _have _to leave."

"But what about our supplies, we left them back at the inn."

Aang and Toph looked at them in confusion. "Wait, what happened? What is Lee doing here?"

"The town was attacked," Lee replied curtly. "They're after you. Follow me, I have some supplies."

He turned to continue walking, the Toph shrugged and followed the older teenager. Sokka spurred his komodo-rhino, and Aang and Katara walked beside each other.

Lee led them for about fifteen minutes, before they came to the edge of a deep, rocky ravine. He went to head down a trail, but Toph suddenly held out her hands, bending a ledge out of the cliff face.

Katara and Aang didn't hesitate to join Toph of the makeshift elevator, but Lee looked reluctant before he finally jumped on.

Toph pushed the ledge down the side of the ravine, while Sokka had to stay up with his rhino, it would be useful in helping them carry their stuff until they got to Appa and Momo.

Lee jumped off the outcropping and went inside a small cave. He was in there for a few minutes, and Katara surveyed the valley. How long had Lee stayed down here?

There were scorch marks on the rock, but other than that the valley was dry and empty.

The Blue Spirit came out of the cave bearing a bedroll, water-skins and food. He put them on the rock ledge, before going back in.

Aang suspiciously brushing his finger across one of the scorch marks. His finger came off coated in ash.

Before the Avatar could say anything, Lee appeared again. "Alright, lets go."

Toph bent them back up to the top, and Sokka loaded Lee's things onto the back of the Komodo-rhino.

"Sokka, Toph, quickly go back to the inn and get our stuff, Katara, Lee and I will meet you there with Appa." Aang instructed, and Sokka nodded, giving Toph a leg-up. Mounted on the beast, they galloped back to the town.

Aang and Lee took off running, matching each other step for step, quickly leaving Katara behind; she was _not _built for running in the heat.

The airbender copied Lee's previous gesture and took her hand, pulling her along.

"Where are we going?" Lee asked, and Aang described the place where Appa was hidden.

At their speed, it didn't take them long to get there. Shocked, the Blue Spirit skidded to a stop when he saw Appa.

"What is _that_!?"

Katara almost laughed, wishing she could've seen his facial expression.

Appa grunted in response to Lee's comment, and Aang boosted himself onto Appa's head to take the reins.

The two of them climbed up into the saddle, Lee gripping on tight when Appa suddenly leaped into the air with a strong flap of his tail.

They soared back to the village, spotting Toph and Sokka a small distance from the edge. Transferring the supplies to Appa's saddle, Sokka released the komodo-rhino and they flew off again when Sokka and Toph were safely seated.

Just as the town was becoming almost invisible on the horizon, Katara saw more Fire Nation soldiers camped out.

"Well, you were right," She said to Lee, who simply nodded.

Katara leaned back, resting on the packs. The Fire Nation were on their tail again. _How did they know we were there? _

And how did Lee know they were coming?

When she asked him again, Lee sighed and reached under his mask to rub his eyes. "I saw their flags when I went to refill my water-skin."

"Thanks for helping us out," Sokka grumbled.

Lee paused. "What?"

"I _said, _thanks."

Katara wondered if the vigilante was grinning. "You're welcome."

* * *

**I know this is moving a bit fast, but I wanna get on with the plot as soon as I can **

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :D**

**Please R&amp;R! xD**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! **

**Hope you enjoy this chapter**

* * *

Zuko wanted to fall to his knees and kiss the dirt when the Avatar's flying thing finally landed.

He wasn't afraid of heights, and had often traveled in air ships when he was still Crown Prince, but riding a giant bison was something else all together.

They had been flying for hours, fleeing the Fire Nation soldiers, before Aang had decided it was safe to land and make camp.

As soon as the bison touched ground, the earthbender Toph had fumped down and had made a tent out of rock. She obviously wasn't going to help out.

Aang took the saddle off his pet's back, and Zuko helped Katara and her brother Sokka to unpack.

Zuko face was hot under the mask, and he longed to take it and get some fresh air, but he wasn't quite ready for his new travel buddies to see his scar. He set up his own tent, unrolled his sleeping back and shut himself in; he wasn't that hungry anyway.

Now that he had some privacy, he untied the ribbon tying the mask behind his head and removed the hood that hid his hair, letting it fall freely into his eyes.

Laying down, he stared at the top of his tent. He could hear Aang, Sokka and Katara talking quietly around the fire they had made, but didn't know what they were talking about.

He sighed. He'd stayed in that town for two years now. It was going to be strange being on the run again. Most people seemed to have excepted the fact that Prince Zuko had vanished into thin air, and now he was about to reveal himself as the mysterious spirit that protected people from the Fire Nation.

Not only was Zuko banished, but he was now a traitor.

His sister Azula had searched for him for a while, but even she gave up eventually.

Zuko had looked for his mother for the first year of his banishment, but she had disappeared even more completely than he had. It amazed him how no one in the Fire Nation found the sudden disappearance of the Fire Lady, and later her son, suspicious.

Thoughts running through his mind at a hundred miles an hour, Zuko closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

When he woke up again, it felt as though he'd been asleep for a few minutes, but his inner fire told him that it was almost dawn.

Hoping that none of the others were awake yet, he exited the tent so he could go practice his bending. With his mask on hand, he found a spot away from the group.

He wanted to do some lightning, but knew it was stupid. He practiced for an hour before going back to the camp, deciding that they would be starting to wake up now.

Zuko put on his mask and sat by the pile of coal that used to be their camp fire. Toph and Sokka were snoring, and Zuko set his jaw in annoyance. Nothing had annoyed him more than his uncle Iroh's snoring when he was in the Fire Nation. Except Azula.

"Hey Lee," He turned and saw Katara coming out of her tent.

She sat opposite him, leaning forward to restart the fire.

"Katara," He greeted duly, still tying his mask.

The waterbender glanced up at him with her deep blue eyes. "You're really doing that, huh?"

"Doing what?"

"Keeping the mask on."

Zuko pursed his lips and looked down. "I have to. I can't risk anyone seeing me-"

"We aren't going to turn you in, Lee," She started to protest but Zuko cut her off.

"I mean the soldiers. If they knew who I was..." It was a lie. No citizen or soldier of the Fire Nation would recognize him now. No one had seen Zuko since his Agni Kai, none of them had seen the scar.

He saw Katara frown slightly, wondering what he was about to say.

He kinda felt bad for lying to them after they were putting so much faith in him. He knew he'd have to tell them who he really was eventually; he didn't really know another firebender who would be willing to teach the Avatar.

"Ok, I trust you." Katara said finally.

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

To his surprise, Katara smiled. When she didn't reply, he stood and offered to stir the cooking food for her.

It was a while before anyone else woke up, and it was predictably Sokka who was out of bed last.

Katara dished out the contents of the pot that Zuko had been stirring, and after living off _his _cooking for three years, her's was absolute heaven.

They packed up camp quickly, hoping to get moving as soon as possible. The sooner they got to Ba Sing Se, the better.

* * *

To say Katara was disappointed when she got out of bed and found Lee putting his mask on was an understatement.

She wanted to rip the thing from his hands and throw into the fire. She wanted to tell him that he didn't need to wear it around them, that he was being stupid.

They were a team, and how could they trust him completely if they didn't even know what he looked like?! She did trust him; he'd saved their lives, but her trust only goes so far when Lee won't show them his face.

When the five of them were back in the air, she tried to sit slightly behind Lee so she could get an angle under the mask, but deflated when she saw that his hood covered any skin that the mask didn't.

Bored, she played with a small string of water from her hip-flasks, while Lee and Sokka were sharpening their swords. Sokka seemed to find it necessary to let Lee know that he had one too, and that he wasn't afraid to use it.

Toph was lounging in the saddle. There was nothing for her to do, so she dozed off for a while as Aang steered Appa.

"You know," Katara spoke up after a long time of silence, startling Aang and Sokka. "You and Lee should practice together when we land again."

Toph laughed. "That's a great idea, Sugar Queen! How hilarious would it be to see Sokka get his butt kicked!"

"I would _not _get my butt kicked." Sokka responded indignantly.

Aang and Katara laughed to, though Sokka certainly wasn't a bad swordsman. He'd trained all his life, and was a top student of Master Piandao.

"Fine, you in Lee?" Sokka challenged.

Lee shrugged. "Whatever."

Toph clapped in excitement, practically begging Aang to land.

Appa started his descent, landing gracefully.

They leaped from the saddle and Toph made a small arena of sorts. Lee and Sokka stepped in, Lee showing off and twirling his dao blades casually.

Katara watched on in wonder as Sokka glared and gripped the hilt of his sword tighter, the two teenagers circling each other slowly.

Sokka made the first move, lunging forward with a high-aimed slash. Lee blocked with one sword and used the other to try to knock Sokka off his feet, but Sokka flipped back to evade the move.

They traded blows in lightning fast movements, their blades nothing but blurs. She could see sweat decorating Sokka's brow, and he was panting, but Lee didn't seem too tired yet.

Lee spun his dao swords dangerously close to Sokka's hand, whacking the tribesman on the side with the flat of one of his weapons. Scowling, Sokka attacked with new-found speed, but he was still too slow.

They continued to spar for five minutes, and then Lee locked Sokka's sword in-between his and twisted it out of his grip, unarming the younger boy.

Toph cheered, grabbing Lee's wrist and holding it up high. Though Lee acted nonchalant about it, Katara suspected that he was smirking under the mask.

Sokka huffed and retrieved his sword. "Whatever, he had two swords."

Lee put his two swords together and slid them into the sheath on his back.

"Well," Aang said. "While we're down here, we may as well get something to eat."

He got some fruit and nuts out of his pack, sharing it around. Katara saw Lee slid his mask up over his mouth so he could eat and drink, but he didn't take it off. She tried to depress her sigh of disappointment. Sokka and Aang seemed to have noticed too.

"How far are we from Ba Sing Se?"

"Another days worth of travel," Toph replied almost immediately.

"You know you can take the mask off to eat, right?" Sokka asked Lee, and Katara could see him tense even from here.

Lee was silent, and when he spoke his words were measured and controlled. "I know."

"Don't you trust us enough yet?"

Sokka's tone wasn't accusing, but Lee's jaw and fists were clenched.

"You don't want to see me." He paused. "It's not pretty."

Katara frowned, watching him pull the mask back on and climb into Appa's saddle.

* * *

During the flight, Toph and Lee fell asleep from boredom.

Sokka wanted to take Lee's mask off, but Katara had a feeling that he would know if they did.

The Blue Spirit had grown closer to Toph than any of them in the short days they'd known each other. Lee seemed to be the only one who didn't take Toph's sass, and luckily for him, she couldn't think of a nickname.

Katara let out a sign, leaning her arms on the side of the saddle and looking down at the ground.

She tried to block out Toph's snoring, but sometimes she was even worse than Sokka.

Sokka and Aang were chatting when suddenly Lee let out a strangled gasp and bolted upright.

Knowing he'd had a nightmare, Katara's first instinct was to comfort him, and though she wasn't surprised when he froze in her arms, she _was _stunned when he didn't pull away.

"Are you ok?" Aang asked, and Lee nodded against Katara's shoulder.

"Just a bad dream."

Sokka bit his lip. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No."

Katara met her brother's gaze and released Lee, sitting back at let the vigilante have some air. Why was he so afraid of physical contact?

Lee pulled his knees up to his chest and ignored them the rest of the day, going straight to bed when they landed for the night.

Katara tried to hide how interested she was in him. She wanted him to open up to her, she needed to know what he looked up like under the mask. _It's not pretty, _he'd said.

That only made her want to know more.

* * *

"Commander Zhao, I have news on the Avatar."

Zhao raised an eyebrow in anticipation. "Well?"

The soldier gulped. "The Blue Spirit has joined them sir. He helped them fight off one of our squadrons and flew off with them. I believe they are heading towards Ba Sing Se."

_That little brat! _Zhao steamed. The 'spirit' had done nothing but give them trouble for years. That the Fire Nation should be defeated so many times by a non-bending boy with swords was an embarrassment beyond comprehension.

He dismissed the soldier and went to his desk. If he told the Fire Lord about the Blue Spirit travelling with the Avatar, surely he would get the resources he needed to capture them both.

There was no else Zhao hated more than the Blue Spirit and the Avatar except Prince Zuko, and no one had heard from the banished prince for three years.

_I will get you two, _Zhao vowed, staring down at his map of the Earth Kingdom.

If they were heading for Ba Sing Se, he would meet them there.

* * *

**Eh, I'm not too happy with this. **

**But we're starting to get Zutara! YAY**

**Please R&amp;R**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! **

**Hope you like this chapter ;D**

* * *

Zuko rose with the sun, as usual. He could hear one of the other's outside, surprisingly.

Letting out a huff of disappointment that he couldn't practice his bending, he slipped the hood over his hair and put on his mask.

"Hey Lee."

Zuko was stunned to see that it was Toph sitting there, not Aang or Katara. "Hi."

"You can take you mask off you know. I'm blind."

Zuko narrowed his eyes. "I'm good."

Toph shrugged, staring vaguely in his direction. Zuko wondered how she knew where he was. Had she heard his light footsteps from that far away?

After standing there in silence for a moment, Zuko went and sat down opposite her. Deciding that since she was blind, he would just use his bending to start the fire.

He held out his hand and sparked the wood, and Toph jumped. "What was that?"

"I started the fire," He answered immediately.

Toph frowned. "But...the flint is over there." She pointed to where the two small rocks lay.

"I don't need flints," Zuko hesitated. "I just used the sticks."

The earthbender stared at him suspiciously, and Zuko cursed his stupidity. Of course he would blow his cover after only two days!

Finally, she shrugged, letting the matter slide, though she still looked suspicious.

Zuko was saved when Katara came out of her tent. She too seemed surprised to find Toph awake.

Katara grinned in greeting to him, and he was about to smile back before he realized that she wouldn't even be able to see it.

The four young teens probably thought he was completely emotionless, having seen nothing but his permanently smiling mask.

Zuko stood to help as Katara started to prepare their breakfast. "Do you need me to do anything?"

"Oh um," Katara looked around her, then handed him a large spoon. "Can you stir it?"

"Absolutely," Zuko took the spoon from the waterbender and kneeled next to the big pot, seeing the look she shot to Toph. She seemed to have forgotten that Toph couldn't see her face.

Frowned behind the mask, Zuko stirred the food while it hung over the fire to cook, the heat of the flames hardly bothering him.

Breakfast was ready long before Sokka woke up, but Katara insisted that they should just eat without them, and Zuko wasn't about to complain.

Until he discovered that lifted the mask over his mouth wasn't going to work anymore. The string kept slipping over his hood, almost causing the mask to fall off. He groaned in frustration.

"Look Lee," Aang said. "I don't want it to sound like we're pressuring you, but you can take it off."

The mask had already become an inconvenience; in the growing heat the mask would just make it harder to breathe and he would get hot and sweaty, and it was stopping him from eating properly. If they came to a town, he would have to take it off anyway, he go in with it on.

Clenching his jaw, Zuko grunted and untied the string, pulling the hood down over his unruly hair.

Aang and Katara didn't say anything, but he still heard them draw in a breath at the sight of his scar, and in a way that was worse than anything they could've said.

Looking down at his bowl, Zuko continued eating his breakfast, the mask laying at his feet.

* * *

Katara wasn't expecting Lee to take off his mask with so little protest, and she was stunned when she saw his face.

Though he turned his head to hide it, Katara saw the scar covering most of the left side of his face, but she wasn't disgusted by it, she'd seen plenty of people with scars. She also didn't miss the fact that he was really quite attractive.

His dark hair was perfectly messy. On the right side of his face, his skin was pale and smooth, and on the left it was red and angry and mangled. He had angular facial features, with a well defined jaw, which she could tell with clenched.

And his eyes. His beautiful golden eyes.

Katara froze. She nudged Aang with her foot and he looked up at her. Checking to make sure Lee wasn't looking, she gestured at her eyes, then at Lee.

Aang frowned in confusion, then realization dawned on his face and he whirled to face Lee, who glanced up in questioning, the sun flashing off his _golden _eyes.

"Lee," Katara said. "You're a firebender... aren't you?"

The teenager straighten, then sighed and run a hand through his hair. "How did you know?"

"Only firebenders have golden eyes." Aang replied.

Toph put her bowl down, suddenly joining the conversation. "So earlier this morning, when you didn't use the flints to start the fire-"

"I used my bending." Lee affirmed, obviously very uncomfortable.

"So when you said you knew a bender who could help Aang," Katara starting. "Was it you? Can you teach him?"

Lee studied the three of them for a long time, his good eyebrow drawn in concentration. "I can teach him."

Aang smiled. "Thank you."

The firebender shrugged and finished his breakfast, trying to signal that the conversation was over as Katara stood to collect the bowls.

The younger boy didn't seem to get the hint. "Are you good?"

Katara snickered when she heard Lee let out a noise of exasperation. Leaving the two boys to discuss firebending, she went to wake her brother.

"Sokka, you missed breakfast. If you don't get up, you'll have to eat it cold."

Sokka moaned in protest and turned his back on Katara.

"Lee took his mask off." She continued to bait Sokka out of bed, but he didn't budge. "I guess Toph will have to wake you up."

She smirked as she started to walk away, and Sokka jumped up, remember when the earthbender had sent him flying. "I'm up!"

"Good," Katara smiled sweetly at him when he realized he'd been tricked.

The warrior glared and got out of his sleeping bag, making his way after his sister to the camp fire.

He grabbed a bowl and sat down, his eyes widening when he saw Lee. "Woah, what happened to you're eye?"

Katara saw Lee's muscles tense, a warning clear in his eyes. "I don't like to talk about it."

"Um, Sokka." Katara interrupted. "Lee's a firebender, he can teach Aang."

Sokka raised his eyebrow. "Really? Why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't trust you," Lee replied shortly. "Firebenders aren't exactly well liked in the Earth Kingdom."

"Well, I can't imagine way," Sokka scoffed, an ill attempt at humor that only earned him a fierce glare.

Knowing she had to save her brother, Katara spoke up from her spot on one of the small logs. "So, can you show us what you can do?"

She swallowed when Lee turned his intimidating gaze on her. She kind of wished they'd let him keep the mask, his gold eyes seemed to just stare straight through her.

"I guess." He said, though he didn't move.

Sokka finished his food, and Katara quickly washed the bowls.

"Do you need a sparring partner?" Aang asked Lee as the group moved to a clear area.

The firebender hesitated. "I don't know, I wouldn't want to hurt you guys..."

"Trust me, we can take care of ourselves," Katara replied with a small smile as she pulled some water out of the flasks at her hip. "I'll spar with you."

Lee shrugged, lowering into a fighting stance as the others stepped back. Katara studied Lee's stance for a weakness, but couldn't find one.

After waiting for each other to attack first, Lee finally threw a punch at her, sending a ball of fire straight for her. She dispersed it with a wave of water, only to find a wall of fire coming forward, bursting out of Lee's foot as he jumped high and kicked.

She shielded herself, sending ice daggers at him, which he easily deflected.

Katara bent the water to her will, covering her arms and creating two long whips. She was, however, startled when Lee created two whips of his own.

He waved his arms, lengthening the whips and sending them in Katara's direction. She raised her own arms to block, then broke her whips and surfed her wave of water towards him, hoping to get a closer shot.

Seeing what she was doing, Lee shot streams of burning hot flame out of his palms, evaporating the water just after she passed him. He somersaulted, kicking fire again.

She had to admit, he was good. She was starting to get breathless.

Deciding that she wanted to end it soon, she attacked him full on, cutting aside his defense and freezing him in a wave of ice.

Lee grinned, then blew fire out of his mouth, melting the ice and letting him drop back to the ground. He landed in a crouch, punching down and sending out an arching wall of flame.

Katara broke the wall before it reached her. "What else can you do?"

She knew that not many firebenders could breathe fire as well as Lee just did, except for in the Royal Family.

"It's not exactly safe to do around here." Lee responded, making her purse her lips.

"Why not?"

Lee rubbed his neck. "Well, the Fire Nation isn't that far behind us, and they'd definitely notice it. Besides, its more something you use in real combat."

Katara shrugged, then flung an ice dagger at him, hoping to catch him off guard. She was disappointed when Lee just side-stepped.

"Alright then," Sokka said. "You're good. You can definitely teach Aang?"

Lee nodded. "Whatever it takes to bring down the Fire Lord."

Katara started to wonder why Lee hated the Fire Lord so much. Ozai was the ruler of his nation, and firebenders were generally very nationalistic. Just those few words Lee had just spoken could have him banished from the Fire Nation for treason.

If the rest of the Gaang noticed this, they didn't let on. Aang beamed, and was probably about to bound forward and give Lee a hug, but the older boy clearly wasn't the type to indulge in that kind of behaviour.

Toph had a slight smile on her face as she gave him an affectionate punch on the arm.

Knowing that Lee was a firebender made something stir in Katara. She knew he wouldn't betray them, but he seemed dangerous. How many other secrets was he keeping from them?

* * *

Having someone see his face for first time in almost two years was... weird.

Zuko had expected them to practically shrink back from him in disgust, but only Sokka had shown any visible reaction to his appearance. And Toph didn't know what he looked like one way or the other.

He knew that eventually he'd have to tell them who he really was, they didn't believe that Lee was his real name anyway.

After his spar with Katara, the group loaded their belongings onto Appa's saddle and they took flight, continuing their flight to Ba Sine Se.

"Wait," Zuko voiced, a thought occurring to him. "Why are we still going to Ba Sing Se? You were going to find a teacher for Aang right, but now you have one."

"Oh yeah," Aang agreed. "What now?"

Sokka stroked his chin. "We need to lose the Fire Nation, and find somewhere to hide where Aang can learn firebending."

"Where should we go?" Toph asked, sitting up.

"If the Fire Nation are following Appa then we should split up." Sokka suggested, and Zuko saw Katara open her mouth to argue. "I can take Appa and Momo."

"Sokka no," Katara pleaded. "What if they catch you?"

"Then it would be best if the Avatar and his teachers weren't there."

The waterbender shook her head. "We can't just leave you."

Zuko interrupted. "Katara, your brothers right. We can't get caught."

He told himself it was so Aang could finish learning the elements, but he knew that deep down it was just the fact that he didn't want his father to know he was still alive and working with the Avatar.

"Look," Toph said. "I can go with Sokka, if it makes you feel better. Aang, you can practice without me, right?"

Aang nodded solemnly as Appa began to descend.

Katara didn't look happy about it, but she nodded eventually.

When Appa landed, Katara gave her big brother a hug, before joining Aang and Zuko on the ground. Watching the two siblings, Zuko felt a sharp pang. He couldn't remember a time when he and Azula had been that close. Affection from Azula was almost impossible to come by.

Watching as Sokka and Toph continued to fly in the direction of Ba Sing Se, they starting walking, determined to set themselves as far away from the Fire Nation soldiers as they could.

* * *

**Sorry for the long wait, and the kinda dull chapter **

**Please R&amp;R :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys!**

**Hope you all ****had a great Easter and got heaps of chocolate :D**

* * *

They walked for hours, trying to get as much distance from Appa and the Fire Nation as they could before sunset.

Aang and Lee were silent almost the whole time, and Katara was almost dead on her feet by the time they found a suitable place to camp for the night. Katara let her pack fall from her aching shoulder, sitting down to get the weight off her feet.

"You'd think that after all the travelling you guys have done you'd have a bit more endurance." Lee dead-panned, watching Aang and Katara critically.

Aang raised an eyebrow. "You mean all the travelling we did riding a flying bison?"

Lee shrugged, joining them on the ground. They didn't have tents, just their bedrolls and some food. The sun was lowering in the sky, taking the day's heat with it as it crept out of sight.

"Do you think it's safe enough for a fire?"

Lee nodded after a moment of thought, and Aang quickly gathered some wood and organised it into a small pile, which Lee lit with his firebending. Katara pulled some of the food out of her bag, giving each of the boys an equal share of fruit and dried meat. It wasn't anything special, but it was all they had for the time being.

By the time they'd their food, it was cold enough that Katara had to scoot closer to the fire. The warmth from the flames was making her tired, but when Aang was yawning and Lee offered to take first watch, she found that she couldn't sleep.

Aang was asleep as soon as he got in his sleeping bag, leaving Katara and Lee.

Lee was sitting on the opposite side of the fire with his back against a tree. Katara tried not to watch the way his golden eyes danced in the light of the fire, reflecting the flames perfectly.

He was a mystery to her. She'd never imagined that she would meet a firebender that she wasn't afraid of. Firebenders had always been her enemies, ever since her mother was killed, but she couldn't look at Lee and see him as a threat, despite his menacing scar and obvious skill.

"I can take the watch if you want." She said, trying to break the silence.

"That's ok," Lee replied. "I couldn't get to sleep anyway."

Katara frowned. "Why not?"

He shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm...just not tired."

She thought back to when he'd had a nightmare while sleeping on Appa's back. Were his dreams that bad that he was scared to sleep?

It was useless asking him about it, she'd already learned that Lee didn't like talking about anything personal.

"When are you going to start teaching Aang?"

"Maybe tomorrow if we can find somewhere safe."

Katara nodded, lapsing into an awkward silence. She shifted, moving closer to the fire again.

"Are you cold?"

The question took her by surprise, and she glanced up at the firebender. He didn't seem especially concerned, but his gaze was steady. She nodded slightly, and Lee took off his coat.

He threw it above the fire and Katara caught it was a raised eyebrow. "What about you?"

"I don't need it," Lee crossed his arms over his chest. "I was actually a bit hot anyway."

The coat was too long for Katara's arms, so she draped it over her shoulders. "Thanks."

Looking over and seeing how nonchalant Lee was, she realized what a protective-big-brother thing he had done. Giving her a coat was something Sokka would do. Thinking of her brother, she glanced in the direction they'd come from, hoping that Sokka and Toph were ok.

She and Aang were just sitting here while the two of them led the Fire Nation away.

Did Lee have any siblings? Did he have a little sister to? Did Lee have loving parents who were wondering where he was?

Katara let out a breath, glancing at Lee and seeing his eyelids starting to droop now that the sun was completely gone. She, on the other hand, felt the power of the moon giving her new strength.

"Lee, are you sure you don't want me to take your watch?" She questioned.

The firebender considered for a long moment, before he reluctantly nodded and crawled into his sleeping bag. Katara noticed that as soon as Lee closed his eyes and fell sleep, the fire dimmed slightly.

Sitting along in the night, Katara leaned her head back and waited, huddled up in Lee's cloak. After sitting there for a few hours, she woke up Aang for his watch and went to sleep.

* * *

The next day, Lee woke Aang and Katara up at dawn, which she was incredibly annoyed about.

"Who wakes up this early?!" She demanded, begrudgingly rolling up her bedroll.

Lee mimicked her actions. "Firebenders rise with the sun," Was his short reply.

Katara grumbled as she packed up the camp.

Aang was munching on some nuts as they started walking. "Where are we going anyway?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, do you know a place where we can hide and I can learn firebending?"

From her place walking behind him, Katara saw Lee reach up and scratch his head. "Um..."

Katara brightened, a thought suddenly occurring to her. "I know! Aang, we can go to the swamp!"

Aang beamed at her, "That's a great idea, the swampbenders will be able to hide us."

"Where's this swamp?" Lee sounded considerably less enthusiastic about the idea than the other two.

"Its on the other side of the Si Wong desert, near Omashu." She said after a moment of thought.

Lee raised an eyebrow. "After you complained about the distance we traveled yesterday, now you two want to go through the desert?"

The other two benders shrugged. "Maybe we could buy a few ostrich-horses or something."

Shaking his head, Lee continued walking, Aang and Katara following suit.

Though Lee wasn't happy with the idea of going to the Foggy swamp, he eventually agreed that it was a good idea. After walking for several hours, they found a town where they could buy some ostrich-horses.

Purchasing the animals, the three of them saddled-up and headed in the direction of the Si Wong desert, further away from Sokka, Toph, and the Fire Nation.

* * *

Toph wasn't even in the mood to complain about flying.

After leaving the others behind, she and Sokka had hardly spoken. Even if she couldn't feel his heartbeat, she knew how worried he was about his sister.

"They'll be fine, Sokka," She said, hoping it wasn't as blunt as it sounded to her.

Toph didn't hear his response, and she wondered if he'd nodded or something, forgetting about her blindness again.

She hated being so far from the earth. She had no idea where she was, who was around her and what they were doing.

She wondered if the Fire Nation were far behind them, if they'd noticed them drop off some of their group. Toph wasn't entirely sure if leaving Aang and Katara with Lee had been a good idea. It wasn't that she thought that the firebender would betray them-he may have a harder time reading his heart rate than normal, but he hadn't lied to them- just that he was obviously on the run.

Being caught with the Avatar could mean big trouble for Lee.

Her heart lurched at the mere thought of Aang falling into the Fire Lord's hands. She wished that Sokka had say something reassuring back, like 'I know'0p-. Maybe knowing that the warrior was confident would make the situation seem a bit less dangerous.

They kept flying, with Toph completely unaware of their surroundings. She could hear Sokka shifting slightly from his place at Appa's head, and she could feel the large saddle beneath her, but everything else was gone.

Leaving Aang and Katara to train with Lee on their own, she felt utterly helpless so high in the air, and she absolutely hated it.

* * *

Travelling on the ostrich-horses was considerable better than walking, but after riding all day, Zuko was starting to get saddle sore.

They were making their way through a thickly vegetated forest, the mounts carefully picking their way through the scrub.

Zuko didn't like the place, too many animals were making noise, it would be impossible to distinguish a human's footsteps. The towering trees provided the perfect cover for an ambush.

Though Aang and Katara had said that this from town it was unlucky that people would be lurking around, but they didn't know bandits like he did. Any thief who had seen them ride off would've tried to take a chance at them, whether they knew if Aang was the Avatar or not.

Making sure to keep alert, he didn't talk to the others unless they asked him a question.

"Hey Lee," Aang was starting to say, when Zuko felt something deep in his stomach. He quickly held up a hand to silence them, listening for anything.

He saw Katara, who was riding behind him at the back, roll her eyes at how paranoid he was being, and then suddenly her ostrich-horses feet were pulling out from under it. The beast squawked in panic as it was hung upside, its tied feet kicking frantically.

With a startled yelp, Katara fell from the saddle, and the movement caused Aang's horse to bolt, straight into another trap.

Managing to rein his own mount to stop it from running forward, he was about to draw his sword to cut the ropes. There was a sharp whistling sound, and a dart flew into his ostrich-horses neck, the sedative coating the projectile causing the animal to pass out.

Zuko jumped from the falling beast, landing near Aang as men with scarves tied around their mouths started to pile out of the trees. He saw Katara uncork her waterskin, and hastily shook his head at her. These men couldn't know that she was a waterbender.

He drew his Dao swords, and the three of them started to run.

They were cut off by more men before they got very far, and Zuko counted ten including those behind them. A gang, great.

He stood in front of his companions, both of whom he had told not to bend, and held his swords out to ward off the advancing criminals.

"What do you want!" Zuko demanded with the princely authority he had learned in the palace. He hadn't used that tone in years.

Even under the face cloth, Zuko could see the man's snicker as he replied. "We don't answer questions from our prisoners."

Zuko glared. "You're sorely mistaken if you think we're your prisoners."

"Not yet," The man replied, and three of the bandits advanced. Zuko deflected their first blows with ease, these men were untrained, and pushed Aang and Katara further behind him.

The three men relentless attacked, but they knew that he had them beat. Just as he unarmed the first assailant, something hard and heavy crashed into Zuko's head.

With a shocked gasp, Zuko staggered as his vision swam. He was starting to feel dizzy, and already he was getting a pounding headache.

"Lee!" He heard his friends scream in the distance, but he had already fallen.

Crumpling to the ground as his knees gave out and his sword fell out of his grip, he saw the men smirking as they stepped forward, easily catching Aang and Katara, who were still wisely playing helpless.

All he saw before he lost consciousness was the forest floor rushing to meet him as he slumped forward.

* * *

**Hey, sorry for the long-ish wait, but I've been busy this week. **

**Anyways, I'm happy with the end of this chapter, but I didn't know what to write with Toph's little section, that was in there as more of a filler, but I hope you guys liked the chapter :D**

**Please R&amp;R xD**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! xD **

**Hope you enjoy this chapter :D**

* * *

Katara's heart lurched as she saw the man sneak up on Lee as he started to disarm his opponents. Clubbing the firebender over the back on the head with a heavy bag that was obviously filled with things they might use to restrain their prisoners.

Poor Lee had been unconscious in seconds.

Without him to 'protect' them, Aang and Katara were apprehended. A man gruffly took Katara's wrists and shackled them behind her back, pushing her forward as he leaned down to pick up Lee's limp form.

Aang walked beside her, cuffed the same way, and he shot her a questioning look. She automatically knew what he was asking.

Should they listen to Lee and keep their bending a secret?

Katara nodded slightly, trusting that the older boy had had a plan when he told them not to bend.

The two of them were marched deeper into the worst by four men while the others went back to the ostrich-horses, presumably to steal their stuff. Katara and Aang marched obediently.

She stared regretfully at Lee's head lolling across the man's back as he walked in front of her.

Finally, they came to a small area of the forest that had been cleared. There, the bandits had set up a camp. There were several tents, some of them arranged around a campfire, and one was obviously serving as some sort of kitchen.

It was probably the most civil camp of thieves Katara had ever seen.

As they were led into the camp, a man and a woman came out of the kitchen tent.

"Ooh, who's this handsome fellow?" The woman cooed, her dark eyes falling on Lee as he was dumped beside Aang and Katara. Strangely, the comment made Katara's blood boil.

The three of them were taken to the edge of the camp, still within the light of the fire, and were tied securely around the base of a small tree.

Katara's hands were still tied behind her, which made it impossible to find a comfortable position against the trunk. Aang was tied up to her left, and Lee on her right.

Their captors left them once they were certain they couldn't get free.

"Do you think he'll be ok?" Aang asked her.

Concerned, she glanced over at the firebender. His head was hanging forward and she could see dark blood on the back of his head where he'd been struck. It wasn't anything life-threatening yet, but she would definitely need to heal him as soon as possible.

"For now." She replied. They agreed that it would be best to wait for Lee to wake before trying to come up with an escape plan.

It took almost an hour after that for Lee to start regaining consciousness. Katara's head snapped in his direction as she heard him make a deep groan.

"Lee," She whispered, and the firebender's closed eyes flickered, unwilling to open. She gave him a light nudge, struggling to move against the tight restraints.

"Are you ok, Lee?" Aang asked in concern.

Lee managed to lean back, and then winced when he hit his head on the tree behind him. "Ow," He deadpanned.

"Alright, we have to get out of here." Katara interrupted, careful to keep her voice low so their kidnappers wouldn't hear them.

She looked between the two boys, and saw that Lee had a smirk on his face. "What?"

"These guys aren't very smart. They tied us up with rope."

Katara looked at him weirdly. "They must've hit you harder than I thought. Of _course _they did."

Lee simply rolled his eyes at her. "No, rope's flammable. And I'm a firebender."

"But won't that give us away?" Aang piped, stretching as far as he could to look around at Lee.

The firebender shook his head. "It isn't unlikely to come across firebenders in the Earth Kingdom."

"Us two however," Katara said, realizing why he'd told them not to bend.

"Exactly. Even if Aang didn't airbend, just revealing that you're a waterbender would be a big red flag, the both of you bending would basically signal the Fire Lord."

Aang nodded in understand. "So, you're going to use the hands that are tied behind your back?"

Katara groaned at the complications, and she heard Lee let out an exasperated sigh.

"Firebenders don't need their hands." He explained.

"You'll roast us alive." Katara exclaimed.

"Wait!" Aang said suddenly. "Why didn't you bend in the woods? Then we wouldn't be in this mess."

Lee shrugged a shoulder. "Like Katara said, I would've roasted us alive. The whole forest would've been set on fire."

They lapsed into a moment of silence as they thought of a plan. Lee's bending was their best bet at the moment, but even Katara knew that creating a flame concentrated enough to cut through the rope instead of burning it to a crisp would be almost impossible using just your mouth.

If he and Katara could manage to move enough so that Katara could use her ice breath on the shackles, Lee should be able to break them, but the trouble there would be trying to make sure that their captors didn't notice.

And even still, the bandits had all their stuff, including Lee's swords, and if they could get out of the restraints they wouldn't be able to fight them off without their bending, and with Lee being injured.

Katara watched the bandits sitting around the fire, laughing and celebrating their success. _You won't be celebrating for long. _

She looked over at Aang, whose brow was drawn in concentration. On her other side, Lee was staring over at the campfire with his eyes narrowed. Katara noticed that the campfire seemed to get brighter every time he exhaled.

"I have an idea," She whispered.

The two boys turned to her, and she explained her plan. To distract the bandits, Lee would make the fire flare, and as discreetly as he could, Aang would create a wind to carry the burning embers onto one of the tents. With the help of Lee's bending, the tent would set fire and while the thieves tried to save their tent and the belongings inside, Katara would freeze Lee's cuffs so that he could cut the rope.

"It might not work, but it's worth a try." She finished, and saw Aang was nodding. Lee thought for a moment before he nodded as well.

Katara and Lee moved around so that they were prepared to move as quick as possible once the fire had started, and then Lee started to breath deeply, bringing in large intakes of air through his nose.

When he exhaled, small licks of fire came from between his lips, and the campfire climbed higher into the air with each powerful breath. Soon, the flames were towering over the tents, and Aang copied Lee's breathing.

A massive wave of wind swept through the clearing, and the flames followed its direction, burning coals and ashes falling onto the shelters.

Lee breathed in, and the embers swelled into tiny flames, which quickly caught on the material.

Katara felt herself smirk as the tent was soon engulfed in flames, thick smoke rising into the air, and the bandits went into a panic. She couldn't believe it had actually worked.

Lee was leaning as far forward as he could, struggling to get his arms up so Katara could use her ice breath. He pushed his shoulders up, and finally managed to free his hands.

He offered them to Katara, and she twisted in against the tree. Making sure she was close so she wouldn't accidentally freeze Lee's skin, she blew out an icy breath, coating the shackles in a layer of ice.

She wasn't entirely sure how Lee was going to break them, but suddenly the metal started steaming and the ice began to melt. Katara continued to use her ice-breath, and soon the metal was red-hot on one side and ice-cold on the other. The differing tempers promptly caused the metal to shatter. **A:N/ I'm not entirely sure if this would work, but I know that steel breaks when you freeze it so...**

Katara felt a satisfied smirk make its way onto her face as Lee's hands were freed. The firebender reached forward and a small stream of fire shot from his fingertip like a knife. He brought the flame down on the rope, burning it till it snapped, leaving the charred edges.

Freed from the tree, Aang and Katara jumped, Aang tucking his legs in as he jumped and swinging his arms underneath him. Katara knew there was no way should would be able to do that, so she had to settle with waiting for Lee to get his swords back so that he could cut them off.

Lee bounded into the fray, searching for the tent which held their stolen belongings. Aang stayed by her side to help her against any bandits that would try to recapture her, but while he was still cuffed and unable to use his bending as she was, they were both almost defenseless.

Thankfully, the thieves were mostly preoccupied with saving their things.

As Lee found the tent he was looking for, two men grabbed his arms as he was about to go in. He kicked out at them, revealing himself as a firebender. The two men scrambled back, trying to dodge the blasts of flame Lee to hold them off.

He called for Aang to grab their stuff from inside, and he and Katara ran to join.

As soon as Lee's blades were back in his hands, he cut the shackles of Aang and Katara with swift strokes, and the three of them bolted towards their ostrich-horses, Lee fending off their followers until they were all safely seated.

Katara urged her mount into a run, and the beast shot into the forest, going as fast as it could to escape. The ostrich-horse ran between the trees, and she caught sight and Aang riding in front of her, with Lee to her left.

They didn't slow down until they were sure that there was no way that the bandits were still behind them. Letting her ostrich-horse slow down to a walk, Katara gently patted its neck.

"Where to now?" Aang said, reining in his mount.

"We need to find a river or something," Katara replied, turning to Lee, who had pulled up beside them. "I need to heal your head."

Lee shook his head. He looked a bit confused, and Katara remembered that he didn't know about her ability to heal with water. "I'm fine Katara."

She gave him a look. "Lee, you're bleeding.

"I've had worse," He replied. Katara didn't doubt that, one look at his scar proved it.

"I know, but I still need to heal you."

He didn't reply, but Katara knew the argument wasn't over yet. Lee was too stubborn to let it go like that.

* * *

Zhao looked up at the sky, watching the Avatar's giant beast fly further away from them. He knew that the Avatar was aware that he was following him, but he still kept going towards Ba Sing Se.

_Stupid boy, _Zhao thought spitefully. Maybe the Avatar and his friends they would able to hide behind the walls, or that the Earth King would help protect them.

Little did they know, but Zhao had conversed with Princess Azula. The Princess and her two companions had infiltrated the palace disguised as Kyoshi Warriors. She had taken leadership of the King's secret service, the Dai Lee and was ready to overthrow the Earth King.

They were heading straight into the Fire Princess's hands if they kept going, and if they turned around Zhao's forces would simply follow them. Eventually the bison would grow tired and they would be forced to stop.

"Sir, we are ready to continue," A soldier said as he approached Admiral Zhao.

"Good," Zhao replied curtly, before ordering his soldiers to continue their march.

* * *

**Hope you liked that chapter :D**

**Please R&amp;R, we're almost at 50!**


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